Retailers in Beverly Hills resumed business and luxury fashion brands reopened their doors for curbside pickup orders along Rodeo Drive after stores closed for nearly two months amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Rodeo Drive on Tuesday was still quiet as Californians adjusted to Stage Two of the state’s reopening, but some locals ventured from their homes for retail therapy in the famed shopping district.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that retailers and clothing stores could start up again with some restrictions on May 13. Stores must remain closed for in-person shopping, but deliveries, curbside and door-side pickups were allowed.
‘It’s exciting,’ Beverly Hills marketing and economic sustainability manager Laura Biery told the Beverly Hills Courier.
‘To really see that retail appetite come back, that ability to pick it up same day is really exciting. That is a welcome site.’
Shoppers descended onto Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, on Tuesday after the Los Angeles started Stage Two of reopening and allowed retailers to partially open
Pictured: Delicia Cordon waits to pick up a purchase at Gucci on Rodeo Drive on Tuesday as retailers were given OK to reopen by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
In accordance to lockdown orders, high-end fashion stores along Rodeo Drive are only allowed to perform deliveries, as well as curbside and door side pickups amid the pandemic
Pictured: A woman wearing a face mask cleans the front windows of a Gucci store on Rodeo Drive on Tuesday as the store begins curbside pickup orders
Staff were seen wiping down store fronts as retail stores in Beverly Hills started to partially reopen
Photos showed customers window shopping along the sidewalks of Rodeo Drive and one women picked up a curbside order from Gucci.
Staff were seen wiping down store fronts as stores in Beverly Hills started to reopen.
‘We’re doing what we can, but at the same time we’re staying safe,’ said Nicola Cagliata, the Rodeo Drive committee president and regional manager for Jaeger Le Coultre.
‘We’re definitely moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of excitement. A lot of the stores are organizing. Clients are calling in orders and preparing to pick-up.’
Pictured: Dulce Gonzalez cleans the front window of Dolce & Gabbana on Rodeo Drive as businesses in Beverly Hills begin to partially reopen
A couple wearing face masks pass empty display cases at a David Yurman store on Rodeo Drive Tuesday
Rodeo Drive’s revitalization came just in time for Mother’s Day last week said Thyme owner Nancy Ohanessian, who added that the store’s telephone was ringing nonstop with shoppers calling in orders for delivery or curbside pickup just hours after they opened.
‘We love it. We’re finally out of the house,” she told the Courier. “The phones are off the hook and we can’t even answer them fast enough,’ said Ohanessian.
Outside of Saks Fifth Avenue, customers drove to the valet entrance of the store to met staffers wearing face masks and offering hand sanitizer, WWD reports.
Staffers had inventory-tracking iPads and fetched items from inside the store for waiting shoppers.
But not everyone finds curbside pickup a useful alternative to in-person shopping.
‘It’s useless. Curbside pick-up is the same things as online ordering,’ said Harry Harris Shoes owner Andy Harris.
‘The optics of curbside service for the essence of a symbolic gesture doesn’t do any good.’
As Rodeo Drive comes back to life after the shutdown, stores are trying to figure out the most efficient and safe way to eventually open businesses at full capacity
Pictured: A woman wearing a face mask cleans a display case at Cartier on Rodeo Drive during the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday
Pictured: A woman walks wearing a mask on Rodeo Drive as Los Angeles County takes its first steps to resuming businesses and restarting the economy
Retailers in Rodeo Drive need should take this opportunity to change things up, according to Kathy Gohari, general manager of Valentino and past president of the Rodeo Drive Committee.
‘I think this is a great time for brands to find ways to recreate themselves,’ said Gohari, who’s worked at Valentino for 18 years.
‘I think what it gives us, is an opportunity to learn from these past couple of months and be able to do things better. It allows us all to be more creative and think outside of the box.’
She explained that much of the retail industry revolved around relationships.
‘Believe it or not, I think with a certain group, [our relationships have] gotten stronger. We check on each other,’ said Gohari.
‘It’s almost like a family member where we care about each other and we check on each other and if we don’t hear from each other we get concerned.’
But Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Johnson said that the reopening, even if limited by lockdown orders, was a step in the right direction.
‘The Chamber welcomes a limited reopening of some businesses in Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills in particular,’ he said.
‘We are looking forward to working with the business community during this process and into the future stages of recovery from this crisis.’
Retailers in Beverly Hills and other locations are reaching out to state officials on how to safely reopen sores and follow the mandated guidelines.
‘Our business community wants to reopen, but they want to reopen safely,’ Laura Biery, Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager, told Beverly Hills Courier.
Los Angeles County is still under lockdown orders and an official end date has not been revealed.
California has more than 83,700 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,400 deaths.